Who Is the Real Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin has always been consistently under rated by both sides of the aisle. The reason is quite simple, she’s a woman of solid core values, can articulate them without a teleprompter, as the record and financials below with clearly demonstrate she was a wildly successful Governor of Alaska. Long and shot she scares the hell out of the establishment of both parties.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, I’m J.C. and I approve this message.

Is she “unqualified” or “unprepared”? What is her actual record? The media demanded and got unprecedented access to the emails she wrote as governor. No other national or state politician has been more open and transparent. We can know this woman if we just take the time to investigate.

I did, and I discovered a record of relentless reform and fiscal leadership that goes beyond “drill, baby, drill” and is more complex than selling an expensive state jet.

Today everyone likes to call himself a deficit hawk, but it’s easy to be a budget cutter when you’re broke. Palin was a serious deficit hawk at a time when her state was flush with a massive oil revenue surplus. It takes discipline and strong conservative principles to rein in spending at a time like that. Palin cut spending by nearly 10% during her tenure while reforming government, attracting more energy companies to do business in her state and adding jobs.

In the days of credit downgrades in states across the country and for the country as a whole, Alaska has seen its credit upgraded twice since 2006 due to Palin’s reform of the state employee pensions and Alaska’s oil valuation tax.

While the nominees for both political parties have implemented health care mandates on some level, Palin proposed repealing bureaucratic mandates for health care facility development and enacted patient-centered, market-driven health care reforms.

Though she is unabashedly a woman of faith, Palin’s message and governing style garnered her approval ratings as high as 93% in the second least religious state in the country. This was no uneducated, geographically-challenged “Bible Spice.” ( More below be sure to see how she dealt with Republican Corruption and all the financials of her Governorship compared with thosegovernors past and present.

By any objective standard, this woman was and is more than qualified to be vice president or president. Her record is arguably better than anyone on the national scene today. The facts bear this out.

I’ve assembled just a brief and partial glimpse of Palin’s record. Much more could be written. Whole films have been made about it (see Steve Bannon’s “The Undefeated”). I’ve chosen to focus primarily on fiscal and energy issues because that’s what Palin focused on.

After reading the following you should ask yourself a few questions:

Why haven’t we heard about all of this before? Why didn’t Steve Schmidt highlight this record during the 2008 campaign? And why is the GOP establishment attacking this woman instead of praising and emulating her leadership?

Palin’s approval rating average from the time of her inauguration until John McCain selected her as his running mate was 77.38%. Her consistently high approval ratings reached their zenith in May of 2007, at 93%. Alaska pollster David Dittman said at the time, “Her strength is her independence. She distanced herself from the old boy Republican regime and has been completely non-partisan.” Alaska Democratic Party Chairman Jake Westbrook gave Palin credit for “working across party lines on issues where there is agreement.”

But she didn’t just cut spending; she saved, reformed, and prioritized like a good fiscal manager. She invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, paid down debt, invested $2.6 billion in an education fund for the future, and funded a Senior Benefits Program to provide support for low-income Alaskan seniors.

Her recently released emails prove that she did indeed kill the “Bridge to Nowhere.” In fact, Palin wanted to redirect the federal funds to Minnesota after the bridge there collapsed in 2007, as she indicated in an email to her staff. Palin also rejected much of President Obama’s “stimulus money” in 2009.

Fiscal Management

Long before state pension fund liabilities became a topic of national debate and crisis, Palin reformed Alaska’s pension program by ensuring a successful transition from a defined benefits to a $8 billion unfunded liability in Alaska’s state retirement program, making it more solvent and leading to a decrease of 34.6% in state liabilities during her tenure.

In stark contrast to President Obama and other governors whose fiscal records are dogged by credit downgrades, Palin left Alaska with an improved credit rating during and following her tenure as governor. Standard & Poor’s raised Alaska’s credit rating from AA to AA+ in April 2008. Then in 2010, both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s upgraded Alaska to AAA for the first time in the state’s history due to policies enacted by Palin that made the state’s finances more than solvent.

Palin’s record on outstanding debt is especially impressive compared to the President’s and many prominent Republican governors’:

Palin was a firm believer in tax cuts. In addition to lowering unemployment insurance tax rates, she cut business license fees in half, suspended the state motor fuel tax, and signed legislation, allowing Alaska-based businesses the same opportunities as out-of-state businesses. All of this was consistent with her record as Mayor of Wasilla, where she eliminated small business inventory taxes and cut property tax mill levies every year she was in office. Her business-friendly policies and infrastructure projects as mayor made Wasilla the fastest growing city in her state, and her policies as governor allowed Alaska’s exports to grow to a record-high in 2006 and 2007.

Energy

Energy issues are Palin’s forte, and her record proves it. In 2007, Governor Palin signed ACES—Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share—a net tax on oil profits that was passed in a bipartisan and transparent manner. ACES replaced the corruption-tainted oil tax plan of the previous administration, which was passed in secret and ultimately lead to the federal indictment of several Alaskan state officials and oil company personnel. Furthermore, ACES provided oil companies with incentives to develop. The progressivity of the tax meant producers were protected when oil prices were low, but the interest of the resource owners—the people of Alaska—were appropriately protected as well to achieve a fair return for their resource.

Perhaps Palin’s biggest energy achievement was spearheading the creation of the Alaska natural gas pipeline. After five decades of unsuccessful attempts by Alaskan administrations to bring a gas pipeline project into existence, Palin and her team introduced the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) in March 2007. AGIA passed the Legislature by a vote of 57-1 in May of that year.

This groundbreaking legislation established the framework for what will be America’s largest private sector infrastructure project—an 800 mile natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to the Lower 48 states. In August 2008, the Alaska Legislature authorized the Palin administration to award the AGIA license to TransCanada Alaska. In June 2009, Exxon Mobil signed an agreement with TransCanada to partner on the project.

Unlike the behind-closed-doors cronyism of past administrations, Palin’s AGIA legislation was conducted out in the open and made use of a genuine free-market competitive bidding process. Palin’s AGIA placed not only Alaska, but also the nation, further on the path toward energy independence.

Palin played hardball with the big oil companies in her state. According to the Alaska state constitution, Alaskans are the resource owners in their state; and it was Palin’s duty as their CEO to get the best deal for Alaskans while at the same time partnering with these oil companies for the mutual benefit of all. One particular bone of contention for Alaskans was the fact that a company was sitting on a lucrative lease instead of developing it. The lease in question was for the Point Thomson field, which contains one of the largest untapped and proven reserves of oil and gas on the continent. Exxon Mobil sat on that lease for more than 25 years while one Alaskan administration after another was either unwilling or unable to get them to move on developing it – even though Exxon was violating their lease agreement by not drilling. Palin told them to develop Point Thomson or else the state would revoke their lease and give it to a company that would drill. She got results. Exxon finally commenced drilling at Point Thomson.

Further buttressing her reformer credentials and her belief in environmentally responsible energy development, Palin also created the Petroleum Systems Integrity Office (PSIO) in April 2007 to ensure the environment compliance of the big oil companies.

Prior to becoming governor, Palin chaired the powerful Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003 and 2004, and was one of three commissioners who oversaw oil and drilling, development, production, and resource management within the state.

Ethics Reform and Transparency

Ethics reform was the hallmark of Palin’s governorship. She was swept into office on a reform message in a state with a serious corruption problem. Alaska at the time was undergoing a federal investigation that culminated in the indictment of various corrupt lawmakers. Palin had made a name for herself as an ethics crusader when she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservative Commission and blew the whistle on fellow commissioner and state GOP head Randy Ruedrich for doing party business on state time. This resulted in Ruedrich receiving a $12,000 fine—the largest civil fine for ethics in the state’s history. Alaskans respected the fact that Palin was not afraid of taking on the establishment of her own party.

Palin introduced health care transparency legislation that established an Alaska health care information office to give consumers factual information on quality and cost to help them make better-informed health care decisions. Recognizing that health care must be market-and business-driven, rather than restricted by government, Palin proposed repeal of Certificate of Need—a layer of bureaucracy that prevents medical facility development. She established the Alaska Health Strategies Planning Council, reduced Medicaid assessments by 83%, and expanded Alaska’s SeniorCare benefits program for low-income seniors.

Whitney Pitcher has a background in conducting research. Stacy Drake contributed to this article.

12 responses to “Who Is the Real Sarah Palin?”

I have always liked Sarah Palin, I feel she is very qualified and is aware of all the demands this society faces. She is hands on and cares, something the men in Washington have never grasped. I hope she continues to be a strong presense in the conversative movement.

Sarah would have made a great President!
The GOP are scared of her cuz she will not tolerate cronyism! She wouldn’t tolerate the back room deals being made…..
So both Parties had to smear her relentlessly cuz she was an adversary to all they hold dear and some of them would be wearing orange jumpsuits!
Perhaps we’ll see her run in 2016….if America is still around and holding elections.

From the beginning, I said we need someone like Sarah Palin, in the White House. Everyone and I mean “everyone” was so busy ridiculing and criticizing her; someday (soon I hope) she will be in the oval office!

Not everyone….I always was defending her on blogs and many others were also. She is what America needs…right along with Newt! This Romney business is sickening! I truly believe a brokered convention would have had Newt being the nominee! Does anyone know WTF is going on? Why did Newt suspend his campaign? Who took away his Security Team? Things are all not as they seem…in my opinion.
Someone is pulling strings again, which forebodes ill for America. Know the Saudi’s pull Obi’s…are they also pulling Romney’s?

_______________________________________

bsfurg….

McCain threw the campaign….then he blamed it all on Sarah and her supposed incompetence to throw the spotlight off of himself!…just another flippin’ RINO…..

Redneck Woman-Thank you, for being there for Sarah and for US! I did “mis-speak” when I said “everyone”; you know, as well as I, that the “lamestream” media and talk-show blabbers tore her to shreds, right along with her family.
As to Romney, I do not have a “comfortable feeling” about him, only because I know what he did in Ma, then with Bain Capital and the “medical research co” (can’t remember that name), but when he was CEO, there, that company “scammed” medicare for many $$ millions and he “claimed” he “knew nothing about it”. Tell me how you can be CEO and NOT know what your own company is doing?
His “possible affiliations” with CFR, Tri-Lateral Commission, Bilderbergs, etc. are only “rumors” and I can’t prove anything. However, “rumors”, generally, have “some foundation” in fact!

No need for thanks….I believe she got the dirty end of the stick. She was an easy target by the MSM and the educated idiots. The left had to smear her and sully her good name cuz she was someone that wouldn’t take any of their BS and she knew how to hurt them!
It was because of Sarah that I got interested in American politics…..I had never watched any of the Debates before or even really cared who became President. She inspired me! I started learning not only about how things are politically in America but also in the politics of Canada! Sarah made a couple of visits to Canada and folks were just as much enamored with her here as folks in the States.
I have to thank her for talking some common sense into our Prime Minister Stephen Harper! LOL! It was after her visit with him that he started to actually make sense and seemed to grow up overnight! Wish I could have been a fly on the wall at that meeting!!
Romney…..well…I fear that he won’t get the job done if he is elected President. He’s going to flip-flop on some very important issues when pressure from the “Special Interest” groups put the heat on him!
I had a bad feeling about Obama when I first saw him and I have that same feeling about Romney now. America needs someone now with a pair of Gonads the size of watermelons and a backbone made of Steel….. Romney just doesn’t have either of those!

Ok-your experience is called the “grand awakening”; now, just hang in there and stay with it! I have very little faith in Romney, as I said before – -because I know him from “back then”. That being said, he still has to be an improvement over the current impostor. But, guess what- -if we find out he’s not, he’ll be another “one term job”! As little as I ever cared for Newt Gingrich, he could “beat the snot” out of both of the above and he wouldn’t need a teleprompter to do it!
Don’t know how old, or young you are, but if you ever had any “political aspirations” I would tell you “Go for it”- -your country needs you. I know mine needs me, but at 75, I don’t have the “long term energy” needed for the battle, so I’ll continue to do everything I can, on the ‘net and at the ballot box! Cheers!

I’m half a century old and have children who haven’t reached adulthood yet! I’m busier than my energy output capacity will handle easy! LOL! Perhaps in ten years I’ll have the time to give that a thought.
I’ll keep my fingers and toes crossed that Romney is better than Obama and a few prayers also! I was hoping that Newt would be the man that sat next in the Oval Office…..He is the one that could get America back on her feet, in my opinion……since I can’t vote in your coming Election….I’ll be with you in spirit and watching it all on TV…..Good Luck and may God Bless America!

Redneck Woman-Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, we are going to need all we can get- -I do believe the majority of “real Americans” are prepared for whatever come.
About 25 years ago, I was in that place where you are now and, within the next 10 years I pray you will remember our conversation and pursue it! Bless you and your family- -and, yes, our children DO come first!

Our children are the future…raise them up right and they will lead the way. Thank you for the blessings! God Blessed us ( my husband and I) by giving us two little angels, when we didn’t think we would have any after being together for 10 years. I will keep our conversation in mind…..I could always help out with other’s campaigning for Elections. Would probably learn a thing or two about it all….I never say never…so all options are open. LOL!

I think you’re right! The majority have had their eyes opened these past four years and are prepared for whatever happens.